Tact
by Shadystar
Summary: Tact (n): Sensitivity in dealing with others or difficult issues. No matter how hard she tried, tactfulness was not one of Raven's special abilities. Mostly a Raven and Robin's friendship story. Takes place after 'Haunted'.
1. Chapter 1

**This story takes place between the episodes 'Haunted' and 'Birthmark'. It mostly focuses on the friendship between Robin and Raven after she entered his mind. There aren't really any pairing in this one; it's mostly friendship, though if you want to imagine it's more that's entirely up to you. So far I think this is just going to be a two-shot. **

**The first part of this chapter is mostly some info on everyone's backgrounds and a recap of 'Haunted' with some added perspective/ information. I tried to keep it as canon as possible.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans, Batman, or anything else in the DC comics universe.**

**Please R&amp;R and enjoy.**

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_**Tact (n):** Sensitivity in dealing with others or with difficult issues._

While Raven had many abilities, tact has never been one of them. Yes, she was an empath and yes, she could feel the emotions of others; but Raven has also had to suppress her own emotions for so long that no one had ever had to comfort her; meaning she never learned how to comfort others. Raven also had to learn over the years how to try to block out the emotional vibes others gave out so that they wouldn't affect her own, which wasn't easy in a house full of teenagers who dealt with violence on a daily basis. Not only could feeling intense emotions cause her powers to go haywire, but if she is exposed to intense negative emotions for too long it could potentially cause her to become physically ill. Many times when things got too intense around the tower Raven would have to lock herself in her room for days on end (if there weren't any missions).

However, there were sometimes when the empath would have no choice but to try to confront the person(s) who was giving off intense vibes and attempt to comfort them so that she could find relief from the internal conflicts. Raven had tried to read self-help books, as well as doing online research on how to be direct yet sensitive with others. But many times the feelings of the other person she was trying to help would block her ability to think straight that she would usually wind up saying things that she didn't mean to say.

Raven noticed that around certain times of the year her friends would get into moods. The roommates didn't like talking much about their pasts, but over the years the truth had mostly come out. So far no one really knew much about Raven's past (or her destiny). Her friends just knew that she had magic powers that were bound to her emotions. At this point, her friends assumed she was a witch who left her coven (or possibly a cult), though none of them asked her to confirm it. Starfire only knew that she was from Azarath and that she spent a lot of time with monks learning how to meditate, Raven spared her the darker details.

Starfire's parents were dead, her younger brother's whereabouts are unknown, and her older sister Blackfire has betrayed her on multiple occasions. When she landed on Earth, Starfire was escaping impending slavery, which was one of Blackfire's attempts to ruin her life.

Beast Boy was an only child whose parents were also deceased and he often blamed himself for their deaths, though it was an accident he had nothing to do with. He eventually became a member of the Doom Patrol. But the leader's harsh rules had pushed Beast Boy away from his first crime fighting family before he found another new family with the Teen Titans.

Cyborg was a well-known local high school athlete before the accident that killed his mother and almost killed him. While the operation that turned Cyborg into a cybernetic organism saved his life, it also made it difficult for him to lead a normal life in society; until he became part of the crime fighting team.

And then there was Robin: The Boy Wonder, taught by one of the most famous heroes in the world, who never let his guard down and was pretty much forbidden by his former mentor to tell anyone anything about his past because it would expose his identity as well. Though many times he did want to tell his friends the truth, Robin decided to respect his mentor's wishes; even though they weren't exactly on speaking terms as of lately.

Of course, Robin's former mentor would be displeased to know that Raven had figured it out. Robin never asked her to confirm how much about his past Raven knew, but he assumed that she pretty much knew everything important about his past: from his parents' death to Batman and Robin's true identities. But Robin knew that his secrets were safe with her; after all, everyone knew Raven had some secrets of her own.

When the Titan's thought that Robin was going crazy for claiming to see Slade, who was supposedly dead, Raven had no choice but to enter the Boy Wonder's mind. Since the mind link, the two friends had an unspoken bond that would make them lifelong friends. However, mind linking was not a power Raven took lightly. She was always taught to avoid using this power unless it was absolutely necessary because of all the potential risks involved:

*Since Raven was part Demon, there was always the potential for her demon side to take over. Mind linking could easily be used for manipulation and any use of her powers with malicious intent could send the hybrid demon over the edge.

*Another risk was that any powerful memories she uncovered in a person's mind could potentially make her react to it with the same emotional intensity as that person, causing her to lose control of her powers. Being an empath, Raven already had a difficult time trying not to absorb the feelings of others around her.

*During the mental linking process, Raven would be opening a portal between three realms of existence: the physical, the mental, and the spiritual. If she lost control of her powers while establishing a connection, it could cause her to hurt herself or that person (and possibly others) in one or more of those realms.

*The most dangerous risk was that the person whose mind she was entering may cross over into her mind. Being half demon, what was in the depths of Raven's mind could emotionally scar the other person and potentially put them into a state of shock that could lead to coma; potentially causing permanent brain damage or even death in the faint-hearted.

However, even before the mind link, Raven knew that Robin was a strong person: physically, mentally, and spiritually. She didn't need to know all the details about his past to see that. In fact, all the Titans could see that by his leadership skills. That's probably why Raven was surprised to learn about Robin's tragic past of having to witness his parents' death. Under normal circumstances, no one would appear to be so well-rounded after something like that. Yet, somehow Robin was. But even strong, well-rounded people can still feel pain.

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It was just past 3 in the morning. Raven was woken up by a nightmare that she knew wasn't hers. When her friends had intense dreams they would penetrate through her state of unconsciousness and cause her to witness the same dream. She knew whose dream it was; she was even expecting it. It always happened around this time of year; but, until recently, she never really knew what it really meant. This nightmare belonged to none other than her leader: Robin.

It was the anniversary of his parents' death and every year he subconsciously relived it. Robin never told anyone about his dream because it could reveal his true identity. Robin's bedroom was soundproof so none of the others heard the screams and the crying when he woke up, though Raven always sensed it. She had asked Robin about it before, but he would just tell her it was nothing.

Raven heard Robin's door open. A few moments later she quietly followed him up to the rooftop, giving some space to avoid getting overpowered by the rush of his emotions.

Robin always loved going up to the rooftop when he needed some alone time. It reminded him of his time in the circus as a child, looking down at the world from high up. It was the closest he had ever come to really flying on his own. Sometimes Robin envied his friends who could fly without help. He will never know what it truly means to feel free from the bounds of gravity and physics, and most of all: the freedom from reality.

Robin could sense that Raven was nearby. Ever since the link they were more in tune with each other. The leader took a moment before he acknowledged the empath; he didn't really feel like talking. Even though his mind was bombarded with the thoughts of his parents, it still didn't feel real. But talking about it would make it feel more real. Robin was standing near the edge of the roof, looking down at the reflection of the moonlight shining in the waves of the bay as they crashed to the island's shore. He avoided looking at Raven so she couldn't see the tears that were forming under his mask.

"It's a beautiful night, huh?" Robin finally stated in the most even voice he could manage.

Robin tried to be nonchalant, but he wasn't fooling Raven. She could sense the intensity he was drowning in: guilt, anger, pain, fear, and despair.

"Very." Raven simply agreed, coming closer to the edge of the roof where he was standing, also not looking at him.

"I never got a view like this in Gotham." Robin said trying to avoid the inevitable, there was a silent pause before he gave up with a sigh. "So I take it you experienced my nightmare again."

Raven nodded. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Yes and no." He replied. "I know you deserve an explanation and I know talking about it is supposed to make me feel better; but I don't like talking about it because that makes it real. I mean, I know it really happened and I know that nothing will change it, but…" Robin's voice started to break; he stopped to prevent himself from sobbing.

"You don't need to explain anything to me, Robin." The empath assured. "I saw everything: in the dream and in your memories. And I understand."

Robin nodded, still looking down at the shimmering water below. The Boy Wonder took in a deep breath and sighed before he found the strength to speak up again.

"Starfire has told me that she sometimes she finds herself writing letters to her parents about her new life on Earth, only to remember that they aren't alive anymore." Robin explained. "And the other day, Cyborg was telling me that he sometimes wishes they would have just left him alone after the accident instead of trying to save him. He said that before the Titans formed, he was treated like a freak of nature. Just like I was when I went to school for the first time after I was adopted. The kids called me everything from 'circus freak' to 'gypsy boy' and I started to feel ashamed of who I was and ashamed that I felt that way about my heritage... about my family."

"Some people will never understand what you've all been through and some people won't appreciate all that you have accomplished in spite of it." Raven stated. "But at least you have friends that will and do."

Robin nodded in agreement.

"You know how Beast Boy feels, about feeling responsible for his parents' death?" The leader asked his teammate. "That's how I feel sometimes. Like, if I would have done something differently or if I would have gone on the trapeze first that they would still be alive."

"That's survivor's guilt." Raven explained. "And if you did go first then you would be dead and your parents would be miserable because no parent wants to bury their child. Think about it: If none of that had ever happened, then there would have been no Robin to help Batman all those times he needed you, which means he probably would have died in one of those situations where you saved him. And that means more people could have died because there was no Batman or Robin to help them. And if you and everyone else on the team had died instead of their parents, there would be no Teen Titans to protect Jump City and none of us would have ever met and became friends."

Robin took a moment to ponder this thought. Now a part of him was starting to feel guilty for sounding so selfish for pitying himself and another part of him was angry for even thinking it was selfish to wish that his parents were still alive. Most of all, he was confused. Robin didn't know how he should react to that or what he should be feeling anymore. This obviously confused Raven, who was starting to feel self-conscious about her comforting abilities. Any energy she could muster up was spent keeping her powers in check.

"It just feels like everyone we love leaves us." The Boy Wonder finally said with despair radiating off of him.

"I know." Raven said as she took a deep breath. "But if you think about it, none of them actually chose to leave any of you; they died. In some ways, you're all kind of lucky."

The words escaped Raven's mouth before she could process what she was saying.

"I can't believe you just said that." Robin hissed in a low angry tone. "That has got to be the most insensitive thing you have ever said."

Robin turned around and stormed back towards the door to go inside.

"Robin, wait! I didn't …" Raven tried to explain before he slammed the door behind him and walked back down to his room.

Raven was about to chase after him before she heard a light bulb in the stairway break. The sorceress decided she needed to go to her room to meditate, before she could break anything else.

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**Will Robin forgive Raven? Will this ruin their friendship? What of the other Titans? **

**Find out next time in Tact: Chapter 2.**

**Also a review would be nice... *hint hint***


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the reviews. Okay, so I know I said this was going to be a two-shot, but I got a little carried away with this chapter and it came out a lot longer than I planned it to be, so there will be a third chapter. I will try to hurry and finish this story up because I have many other stories that are going to take longer to wrap up and it's too distracting having so many unfinished stories; but other story ideas I want to do. **

**Sorry, I was going to finish it sooner, but I had to reset my computer and couldn't save any of the chapters I was working on for this story and several other stories I was working on (I didn't have a flash drive and my computer wouldn't access the internet to back them up online) and then I recently got 2 new jobs, so that ate up a lot of my time and energy (not that I'm complaining). **

**I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter (I see it more as a filler/transition chapter), but the next chapter one will definitely be better (at least in my opinion). **

**Disclaim: Raise your hand if you own Teen Titans. *Shyly attempts to raise a hand, but decides to keep hand down to avoid lawsuits.***

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Chapter 2:

After 20 minutes of meditation, Raven decided to go back to bed. Even across the hall and through hers and Robin's doors, she could still feel the intensity of her leader's rage. She figured that The Boy Wonder just needed to sleep it off and maybe he will feel better in the morning.

**The Next Morning:**

Raven woke up a little later than usual, since she kept waking up in the middle of the night. Every time Robin drifted back to sleep, his nightmare reoccurred, waking up both him and Raven. The nightmare would send Robin into a panic attack before he realized it was just a dream. Then Robin would remember what Raven said to him earlier that night, causing him to get even more upset and causing Raven to feel suffocated by the flood of emotions; none of said emotions belonging her.

It was almost 9 am and the other Titans were already up. Cyborg and Beast Boy were having their usual meat vs. tofu breakfast debate. Starfire was tired of waiting on them to start cooking breakfast, so she fixed herself a bowl of cereal. Robin was at the table next to Starfire, drinking his orange juice and reading the newspaper without saying much, as he normally did every morning. Robin was used to keeping his emotions in check, at least on the outside.

Raven could feel her leader's tenseness all the way from her bedroom, but reluctantly went to the kitchen before Beast Boy and Cyborg could attempt to give her one of their famous 'air-horn orchestra' wake up calls.

Raven made her way to the kitchen to get started on her morning tea.

"'Morning, Sleepyhead." Cyborg cheerfully greeted the empath.

"Think you got enough sleep?" Beast Boy chimed in.

"Nowhere near enough." Raven responded as if hinting to Robin, who never looked up from his morning paper, as she filled her teapot with water.

"You do not normally sleep in this late." Starfire observed. "Did you have trouble falling into the sleep?"

"Just a bad dream." Raven simply replied as she started the stove.

"Probably from Cyborg's cholesterol clogging, stomach acid rotting, barbecue dinner from last night." The green changeling accused.

"Or maybe it was from those horrifically nauseating, bland tofu kebabs Beast Boy insisted on making everyone try as an appetizer." Cyborg challenged.

"At least no one's ever died from eating too much tofu; like people do every day from heart attacks cause by years of eating too much red meat." Beast Boy countered.

"You don't know that; maybe their taste buds died of boredom." Cyborg accused. "And who knows how many people have died from choking on tofu when they realize how nasty it is."

Raven could feel twinges of pain every time Cyborg and Beast Boy said the word 'died' radiating from Robin. His body would tense up even more so and he would grip the newspaper tighter.

"Please, friends, let us not speak with the hostility over such trivial matters." Starfire intervened. "On my planet, one must fend for themselves and often times one must fight for their food. To be able to live in a world where we are able to go to the 'store of the grocer' and pick the food we prefer truly makes us all very lucky."

While Starfire's comment had calmed down the changeling and the partially metallic man, it sent Robin over the edge. Remembering what Raven had said last night about him and the other Titans being 'lucky' that their parents died, The Boy Wonder stood up and walked out of the room without saying a word.

"What's eating him?" Beast Boy asked.

"Dude must have woken up on the wrong side of the bed." Cyborg chimed in.

"Robin does seem rather dismayed more so than usual this morning." Starfire agreed.

"He had a bad dream last night." Raven simply explained, as she took the teapot off the stove and poured the hot water into her cup.

"Terrors of the night can be quiet troubling." The Tamaranean responded. "But does he not realize that it was only just a dream?"

'If only it were _just a dream._' Raven mentally commented.

The empath and the leader had an unspoken understanding about not sharing any information about one another that is revealed through the mind link without prior consent. And Raven knew that Robin would most likely not give her permission to tell the other Titans about his past.

"Wait, didn't you say you had a nightmare last night, too?" Cyborg asked Raven.

"Called it; your carnivorous dinner gave everyone nightmares." Beast Boy started up again.

Before Cyborg could respond, Starfire chimed in.

"Raven, how did you know he also had the bad dreams when you had just awakened and he has not even told any of us, yet?" The redhead inquired.

"Because…" Raven sighed, "His dreams reached out to me and I experienced it."

All of the Titans knew about Raven's ability to read emotions and they noticed that Robin and Raven had a closer bond since the last Slade incident.

"Maybe you can talk to him about it." Cyborg suggested. "Since you both had the same dream and all."

"I tried; it didn't work." Raven responded.

"What was the dream about?" Starfire asked.

"I can't tell anyone." The empath stated. "It's too personal."

"Do not worry, friends. I shall do the talking with him." The Tamaranean offered.

Starfire left the kitchen area and headed for Robin's room. She lightly knocked and the door immediately opened, revealing the stoic features of her leader.

"May we talk?" Starfire inquired.

Robin simply nodded and let the redheaded girl into his room. Everyone knew he couldn't shut Starfire out. Robin and Starfire were best friends; he always has, and always will, have a soft spot in his heart just for her. Even with the mind link, Raven tried to distance herself as much as possible from Robin (even more so then usual) to avoid letting him in her head.

**7 Minutes Later:**

The usually cheerful Starfire came out of her leader's room with a glowered face and walked next door into her room without saying a word to anyone. Raven sensed the resentment that had already been looming in the tower getting heavier.

'Great, Robin told Starfire about what I said.' Raven groaned mentally to herself. 'And now she hates me, too.'

While Starfire was in Robin's room, the boys had asked Raven what was going on; but she refused to answer them. She knew it wasn't her place to tell the other's about Robin's past. It was his story to tell, not hers. Raven couldn't tell the others what happened without revealing some of his past. And of course, with him being angry at her at the moment, he was probably most likely telling the story from his point of view with her words coming off as being much harsher than she had intended them to be. Though, when she thought about it, she figured that she couldn't make her words sound much better herself.

"Looks like Robin got Starfire in a bad mood, too." Cyborg commented.

"Seriously, what's with everyone today?" Beast Boy asked. "I'm going to ask him."

Beast Boy approached Robin's room with Cyborg following behind him. The changeling knocked 'Shave and a Haircut' on Robin's door only to be told: "Not now, Beast Boy."

"Cyborg and I want to know why everyone's in a funk today." Beast Boy proclaimed.

"Ask Starfire." The Boy Wonder suggested. "I don't feel like talking about it anymore today."

They went to Starfire's room and Cyborg knocked on her door.

"Who is there?" The Tamaranean asked with a similar annoyed tone as Robin.

"Starfire, what's going on?" Cyborg gently inquired.

Starfire opened her door and saw the two confused males standing outside her door. She silently gave them permission to enter her room. Several minutes later the boys exited the alien's room with vibes of confusion, anger, and depression.

The atmosphere in the tower's common area was becoming too overwhelming for the empath, she needed to seek refuge in her room. Cyborg was already in his room on the other side of the hall, but as she headed towards her room, Raven caught a glimpse of the normally gleeful Beast Boy. She tried to force a friendly smile on her face, but was only met with a morose face and eyes on the verge of tears before the green boy quickly looked away, quickly opening his door, and swiftly slammed it behind him.

'Great.' Raven thought to herself as she hit her head against her bedroom door. 'Now the whole team hates me, all because I'm terrible at helping people. Some empath I am.'

Raven spent the next few hours meditating. She still felt the tension lingering in the tower, but it slowly died down a bit. Unlike her, the sorceress's friends weren't introverts. With the possible exception of Robin, who often spent hours doing detective work in the room where he kept all the evidence from missions. They couldn't go very long without the company of others. About three hours after the incident, Beast Boy and Cyborg finally came out for some food and wound up talking a bit. Starfire later joined them when she thought she heard laughter; more like soft chuckles, but still something she found more joyful than sulking in her room thinking about the demise of her family. Eventually Starfire had even coaxed Robin into (reluctantly) joining in on the mild fun, with the help of the 'sad puppy eyes' trick she learned from a TV show which she found out works on everyone, especially Robin.

The other Titans were in the ops room for over an hour when Raven heard her stomach begin to growl. She only had one cup of tea for breakfast that morning and was starving, but she tried to fight it. The empath knew her friends were in slightly better moods than early, but she didn't know what to say or if she should say anything. Hunger was a feeling similar to greed, Raven knew that any powerful negative feeling she felt could unleash her inner demon and cause her to lose control. She fought with her inner self but when she noticed the walls of her room begin to shake the demon hybrid realized that she needed to address her hunger before the whole tower collapsed.

Raven slowly tried to leave her room, trying to avoid any unwanted attention. She peeked around the corner of the hallway entrance into the ops room to see her teammates on the couch talking. She quietly levitated into the open layout kitchen before she softly landed in front of the counter to look for something in the cupboard that she didn't have to cook. But, since Raven hardly ever cooked, she didn't know her way around the kitchen very well. She mistakenly opened the wrong cabinet and caused the pots and pans that were carelessly shoved in there (most likely by Beast Boy) to clatter together and fall, one of them landing on her foot. The empath let out a pained yelp before ducking and hiding behind the kitchen counter.

The other Titans winced in surprise as they turned back to see what had happened.

"What was that?" Starfire gasped in a startled tone.

Raven slightly blushed with an embarrassed smile as she stood up and saw her friends looking at her. Their faces immediately dropped, remembering why they were upset to begin with.

"I'm going to head back to my room, now." Robin announced to the room, as he stared daggers at Raven.

The rest of the Titans mumbled in agreement, their previous moods also returning as they returned back to their respective rooms. When everyone was gone, Raven leaned against the wall and let her legs give underneath her, as she slid herself to the floor and tightly hugged her legs while tucking her face into her lap.

'It's not fair.' She thought to herself trying to stifle her tears. 'I never wanted any of this to happen, I didn't meant it to come out like that. It's not like I was trying to say their parents were horrible people or anything, far from it; I was just trying to make him feel better. They don't even know the truth about me and they still think I'm a heartless monster.'

As a light bulb in the kitchen burned out from her temporarily losing control of her powers, a light bulb in Raven's mind lit up. Raven realized the problem was that she got too carried away empathizing with everyone else. The empath always felt the emotions of those around her, but was always reserved when it came to expressing her own emotions. She never really told any of them all about her past and never even opened up enough mentally for Robin to get to know her, even though she pretty much knew everything about him.

Maybe if she let them know the truth, maybe then she could find the right words to make everything right. But she wasn't ready for the whole team to learn the full truth about her just yet. It would be hard enough to block out the possible feelings of judgment from one person, let alone 4. She needed to tell someone who could stomach the whole truth, someone she knew could keep her secret as long as she needed them to, and someone who was generally good at composing themselves emotionally, or at least wait until they heard the whole story before reacting to it.

Starfire was automatically out. The Tamaranean always let her emotions run wild when reading or watching movies, which is why Raven usually refuses to sit next to her when they watched TV. Cyborg was a little more reserved about his emotions, but he wasn't very good at keeping secrets from his friends for too long. Raven knew Cyborg would probably tell the others or at the very least Beast Boy; who would not only probably tell everyone else, but also had a wild imagination, which would make it difficult for Raven to concentrate on saying the right thing if she told him. Plus, Beast Boy would probably interrupt Raven a lot by trying to guess what she was going to say before she said it by jumping to conclusions with one of his odd theories. That only left….

"Ugh, of course." Raven muttered in annoyance under her breath. 'It has to be the one that hates me the most right now.'

Raven's stomach growled, reminding her why she left the safety of her room in the first place. The hungry teen stood up and looked through the cabinets until she finally found the snack pantry. She pulled out a bag of her favorite chips before she returned to her room to plan out exactly what she was going to say, hoping she could fix everything.

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**Will Raven's idea work? Will Robin finally forgive her? What did she really mean to say, anyway?**

**All that and more in Tact: Chapter 3.**

**I promise that will be the last chapter.**

**Reviews are appreciated.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for the review, as I mentioned in the previous chapters they don't know much about Raven's past yet because she still hasn't told them (since this takes place before 'Birthmark').**

**This is one of the longest chapter's I've ever written. Raven just has so much depth to her that it's hard to sum it all up into a few words. Since most of the episodes about Raven's past revolve mostly around her father's side of the story, I decided to go more into depth about her mother's side of the story. **

**I did try to avoid mentioning the demonic role in her past since that is explained in Birthmark, Prophesy, and The End (1, 2, and 3) and because I figured it would make more sense that she would still be secretive about that part of her history. Other than that I tried to stick to the canon history as best as I could and fill in the blanks in a few other areas. It seem be a little sappy around the end, but overall I like how it turned out because it was the best way I could think of to describes Raven and Robin's friendship.**

**This is also my last post/update/ story completion of 2014, I tried to make it a goal to finish at least one of my ongoing stories before the new year (so far 5/9 are complete).**

**ETA: sorry there was a computer glitch and it wouldn't show the last chapter, hopefully it's fixed now.**

**Disclaimer: Raise your hand if you think I own Teen Titans, DC comics, and/or Warner Brothers *No one raises their hand* Yep, didn't think so.**

**Anyway: Read, review, and enjoy. Happy New Years.**

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Chapter 3:

As the hours wore on, Raven started to feel sick. She reflected on her past, she meditated to concentrate on what she wanted to say, and at one point she even managed to consult each of her personalities for guidance and insight on what she was feeling and how to express herself. But all of this took a lot of energy and Raven's energy was already being drained by having to control her powers and trying to block out the toxic hostility that was spreading through the tower from her teammates.

It took Raven a good while before she felt well enough to even attempt to meet with her inner selves. The emotional pain of the others had starting to turn into physical pain for her. The empath felt a sharp pain in her stomach; she knew it wasn't from the chips because it was only a small fun-size bag that barely satisfied her appetite.

Apparently, what she thought was hunger was the beginning of a cluster of stomach aches caused by her roommates' emotions. Though at the time they were a lot more relaxed, the temporary happiness only covered up the pain they were feeling, but didn't stop it completely. It was only during brief periods of relief when the negativity wasn't as strong, probably during happy memories as opposed to depressed stewing, was when she was able to concentrate enough to finish her objectives.

Raven knew that if she didn't try to resolve this soon that eventually the pain would get worse, and possibly even dangerous. At times when one roommate was depressed, the empath had been known to experience mild stomach ulcers. But, with all 4 of her teammates upset with her all at once, there was no telling how ill she could get if this went on for a while.

'It's not like they would care if I was bleeding internally anyway, right now.' Raven bitterly thought to herself as she placed a hand over her stomach where the pain was getting sharper and tried to calmly breathe it out to stifle any verbal expression of pain.

Raven's curtains had been closed to help her concentrate; she didn't even realize that the sun was setting. The whole team had wasted a perfectly good day without any missions sulking in their rooms. When the empath felt another period of temporary calm through the tower walls, she decided to act before the pain returned. Raven took a few quick deep breaths to relax before executing her plan.

She walked up to the door and slowly knocked twice before she felt an added jab of dull pain. It was the feeling of slight annoyance coming from the person on the other side of the door. At this point, a trivial emotion such as annoyance was almost a blessing. She took a deep breath and knocked in a similar pattern as before.

"What?" An irritated voice said with a sigh, he was right on the other side of the door still deciding whether or not to open it.

"We need to talk." Raven calmly stated in her classic monotone voice. "Alone. Now."

The door opened with Raven's leader showing a blank, emotionless face as he walked past her and calmly, but swiftly, walked towards upstairs to head for the roof as Raven silently followed a few paces behind. Robin knew Raven wouldn't let him in her room and he didn't want Raven to see the mess of old family pictures and newspaper articles that were currently scattered across his bedroom floor. He figured the fresh air would do them both some good anyway.

Raven felt a slight rush of adrenaline, which did help to slightly numb the stomach pain a bit. Most of it was Robin's, which meant she knew he had probably been contemplating on what to say to her and was probably going to tell her off. But some of the adrenaline she was able to identify as her own. She was nervous about what she was going to say and how he was going to take it. She wanted to make sure the words came out right but that also depended on Robin's reaction and her being able to control her powers.

They both reached the rooftop without saying a word to each other. Robin walked over to his favorite spot on the roof to look at the setting sun and Raven tried to regroup her thoughts one last time as she stared aimlessly into the city.

"What did you want to tell me?" Robin finally asked, breaking the ice.

"First, it's important that you keep an open mind the whole time." Raven demanded. "I need you to stay calm and hear me out. I need you to hold all judgments aside until I'm done speaking. Can you do that for me?"

"I'll try." Robin reluctantly promised, with his arms crossed in a defensive stance.

"Alright." Raven sighed, she figured that was the best she could get for now. "First of all, I'm sorry."

"For…?" The Boy Wonder fished trying to get what he saw as a proper apology.

"For hurting you and the others." The empath clarified.

"And…?" Robin implied.

"And what?" The sorceress asked.

"Aren't you going to apologize for what you said?" He implied.

"No." She stated firmly.

"'No'?" Robin repeated in disbelief.

"I won't lie to you: I'm sorry for how it came out and I'm sorry that it hurt everyone's feelings." Raven admitted. "But I meant what I said."

"Wow, just when I thought you couldn't get anymore-." Robin started to say before he was interrupted.

"Robin, you said you'd hear me out and wouldn't judge until I've said what I need to say." The empath reminded her leader.

"I said that I'd try." The Boy Wonder reminded her.

"Well, try harder." Raven countered, trying to control her own frustration.

"You have two minutes." The leader commanded, as if trying to put a timer on his internal emotional shield.

"I'll take as much time as I need." The sorceress asserted herself.

This actually surprised Robin, while Raven didn't have trouble talking back to others (mostly Beast Boy and villains) she usually tried to avoid unnecessary conflict by agreeing as long as there was no present danger, much less an order from her leader. Raven continued when the surprised look on Robin's face melted into a flat emotionless expression.

"As I was saying: I know you and the other's have lost your families and I know that you're all in pain, but you all don't realized how lucky you all truly are in some aspects." She proclaimed.

Robin raised a finger as if to signal her to stop so he could respond to argue, but Raven cut him off.

"I'm not saying your families were terrible people and I'm not saying that any of them deserved to die or that any of you deserve to be without them." Raven commented, as if knowing all the possible ways Robin could interpret it. "I'm saying you're all lucky because they didn't have a choice in leaving you."

Robin relaxed his demeanor a bit. He kept his eyes straight ahead as the city lights started to light up, but nodded to signal the empath to continue.

"How much about me do you all know?" Raven said, not sure where to start.

"We all know you have powers and that if you get too angry they can get a little haywire. Starfire said that you told her you're from a place called Azarath and that you spent years learning meditation from monks to help you control your anger to help with your powers." Robin reiterated his knowledge of Raven's life.

"That was all that I told her about my past." Raven explained. "I just needed her to understand why meditation was important for me and I figured she wasn't ready for the other details."

"What 'other details'?" Robin inquired.

Raven deeply inhaled. She decided hours ago that she wasn't going to lie but that she would only tell Robin what he needed to know for now and to spare the darker information. After all, who knew if the prophesy that had been looming over her head since birth would even come true.

"When my mother was young, she was lost and confused about who she was and what she wanted out of life." The empath began. "She fell in with a bad crowd and wound up joining a cult. Shortly thereafter, she was arranged to be married to someone who was pretty much the head of the cult, the supposed deity they worshiped. Anyway, soon after they married, my mother found out my father wasn't the man she thought she was marrying and he wound up… forcing himself on her; which is how I came to be."

Robin stood there quietly letting everything sink in. This was the most Raven had ever talked about her past to anyone. Raven felt a slight twinge of concern from Robin. After a few second of silence to gather her thoughts, she continued.

"When my mother realized she was carrying his child, she couldn't bear the thought of living another day being bonded to him in a union as holy as marriage; much less being bonded to him for life by sharing a child together. She figured her and I both would be better off not existing at all, than living in a world where he could and most likely would hurt us."

Robin felt a chill down his spine, understanding where Raven was going with this and couldn't help but ask.

"Your mother… Did she…Is she… ?" Robin attempted to inquire as politely as possible.

"No, she tried to end it all, but someone found her in time and she was saved." Raven explained. "I was born not too long after but my mother gave me up to have me raised by a high priestess, Azar. I guess my mother knew in her heart she couldn't possibly care for the child of that monster.

My father was a very well-known, powerful man. The cult that worshiped him practiced dark magic and I inherited the power, and the darkness, from him. Even as a small child my powers were strong and dangerous. Every tantrum I had as a child led to trouble: from my blood curdling screams that caused a monk's eardrums to erupt, and for him to become completely deaf, to my built up frustration over trivial things that resulted in several buildings to collapse over the years. Even giggles of pure happiness had been known to lead to multiple power surges within a 5 mile radius.

So the high priestess set up a strict regimen to help me control the darkness and the power. I was placed on a special diet, avoiding anything too sugary to limit highs and crashes that would affect my mood and avoiding anything too fattening or greasy to prevent brain fog so I can concentrate. The only real stimulant I was allowed was what little caffeine was in my tea, just enough to help me stay alert during long periods of concentration.

But the only way they could really teach me control at such a young age was to also teach me how to avoid feeling anything at all, since the emotions of children were too unpredictable. I was taught that anytime I think I might feel any emotion to just meditate, think about something else until I couldn't feel it anymore. And it worked, eventually. I became emotionally numb, I couldn't feel anything. I was indifferent about everything to the point where I didn't even remember what it felt like to love or to hate. I didn't have any strong opinions one way or another about anything at that time.

Then I noticed that every time I was in a close distance to someone, their emotions started to affect me. There were times when it was too much and the chaos would start up again. Eventually, I just locked myself in my room and avoided leaving unless it was absolutely necessary. I was conflicted because I started to remember what it felt like to feel again: to remember joy and disappointment, anxiety and excitement, to remember what it felt like to actually have hopes and dreams. I started to realize how empty my life was becoming from having to shut out everything all the time.

When Azar died, a part of me wanted to mourn, but I knew I couldn't. Everyone else was grieving and the last thing they needed was for me to cause a natural disaster. So I meditated nonstop to avoid feeling anything, but somehow everyone's emotions reached out to me and haunted me. I felt suffocated; I couldn't sleep for days, until most of the grieving dissolved. I even lost weight from throwing up so much."

"Throwing up?" Robin, who had been intently listening to the story, interrupted.

"Emotional distress can cause stomach issues, even in normal people." Raven informed her leader, knowing she was far from what most people would consider 'normal'. "But prolonged exposure to strong negative emotions of those around me literally makes me sick."

Robin instantly felt guilt run through him, wondering how difficult it must have been for her after all the extreme emotions he and their friends had felt today.

"It's okay, you didn't know." Raven said in response to Robin's silent remorse. "But feeling guilty doesn't help matters."

"Oh, right. Sorry." Robin apologized.

"So anyway, shortly after Azar's death, I guess my mother decided to at least attempt to be a part of my life; after pretty much abandoning me for 10 years." Raven paused to take a deep breath to fight back the bitterness that she recognized in her tone before she continued. "But no matter how hard she tried to make amends and no matter how much I tried to be good, I knew that every time she saw me that she saw him, too. She couldn't just see me as her daughter, she saw me as _his_ spawn. I tried my best to prove that I wasn't my father's daughter; to prove that I wasn't a… bad person."

Raven stopped herself in time to prevent herself from saying the word she detested, the only word that could describe her kind.

"Anyway, we both knew that as long as I was alive that my father would one day come back for me. Not because he cared about me, but because he wanted to use me. To groom me to become his… apprentice, if you will." Raven mentioned, knowing that Robin of all people would understand what she meant, after everything he had been through with Slade. "But I never wanted to do his bidding. I never wanted to be like him: hurting people, making them suffer by abuse my power.

I wanted to be more than that. I wanted to prevent suffering. I guess in a way, a part of me wanted to undo all the pain he's caused over the years. So I left Azarath around my 14th birthday to look for help, but even the Justice League wouldn't help me."

Robin felt a jolt of anger building up. His former mentor was a member of the Justice League that promised to help and protect those in need, but apparently refused to help Raven when she asked.

"They had their reasons, and while I was crushed, I understood." Raven responded to calm Robin's boiling thoughts. "In some ways, I'm glad they didn't help me; because if they had, I probably wouldn't have ran into you and the others. And I probably also would've never realized my true potential." Raven said with what almost looked like a faint, sincere smile on her face. "Sorry, I guess I kind of got carried away and started rambling on a bit.

But my point is: I said you were all lucky because everyone you all have ever loved did care about you and if they had a choice they would never leave you. Everyone in my life has deliberately abandoned me or only acknowledges me when they need to use me.

You guys are lucky because you all have had family that genuinely and unconditionally loved you. And that's something I will never get to experience first-hand."

Raven felt her own grief building up within her, causing a heavy feeling in her chest that she feared might have been the start of a panic attack. The empath focused her eyes on the waves in the bay below to calm herself. She couldn't really read what Robin was feeling at the moment, he kept his natural stoic features on the city ahead, still letting everything Raven had told him sink in. There was a moment of silence before he responded.

"I'm sorry to tell you this: But, you're wrong, Raven." The leader proclaimed.

Raven felt the panic in her start to escalate, along with an additional slice of rage. She had just basically poured her heart out by telling him things she's never told anyone else, while sparing him the darker details, and he still couldn't show her thoughts any form of consideration?

Raven felt the surface beneath her legs start to quake before she inhaled deeply.

"I should have that known no one would understand." Raven said as she turned around to head back inside.

Robin grabbed her wrist, which caused Raven to freeze in her place to avoid pushing her leader off the rooftop.

"Wait!" The leader shouted in a panic. "I didn't mean your feelings are wrong. I meant that you're wrong about your family not loving you."

"You've never met my family, Robin." Raven replied somberly. "I don't remember the last time my mother told me she loved me, if she ever did at all, and I don't think my father is even capable of love."

"I didn't mean them." Robin stated. "Just because you're related to them doesn't mean they're your family; just like just because we aren't related to you doesn't mean we're not your family."

Raven felt a a rush of peace come over her from hearing Robin say that, but it was short lived.

"Thanks, Robin, but I doubt the rest of the team thinks of me that way." The empath countered.

"I know they do." Robin said. "You may not notice, but Beast Boy goes out of his way to try to make you laugh, even if it's at his own expense. If it weren't for the fact that you could and probably like to do it yourself, Cyborg would gladly beat up anyone who hurt you in anyway. Starfire looks up to you and she even told me once that she thinks of you as the sister she never had."

"Starfire has a sister." Raven contradicted.

"Well, Blackfire's the sister she did have." Robin backtracked a bit, Starfire didn't really understand that expression too well. "After all Blackfire's done to her, I'm sure Star would much rather have you as a sister."

"And what about you?" Raven inquired.

"Well…." The Boy Wonder had always been taught to be reserved about these kinds of things; his mentor had always taught him to never put himself out there emotionally. "You inspire me."

"What?" The empath asked in disbelief.

"You inspire me to think outside of the box, from a logical standpoint." The leader elaborated. "When I was training with Batman he always looked at things from a logical point of view. He mostly saw things as black and white with very little leeway, which is why he's had trouble keeping a stable relationship. That's off the record, by the way."

"Of course." Raven hid a quick smirked, thinking about what she had read in the tabloids about Robin's former mentor's alter ego. "So you're saying I inspire you because I'm not logical?" She couldn't help but feel a bit of a sting from that.

"The exact opposite, actually." The Boy Wonder corrected. "You're one of the smartest people I know, if not the smartest. You're insightful and wise beyond your years, but you've never let logic get in the way when it comes to more complex circumstances that even logic can't explain or fix. And, to me, that's the definition of true wisdom."

Raven felt something she's never truly felt in her life, she couldn't quite put a name to it. But for some reason, she temporarily lost control and found herself hugging her leader.

"Thank you, Robin." She whispered softly.

"No problem." He said reciprocating the hug. "And don't worry; I'll call a team meeting and straighten out this whole thing out with the others."

"You're going to tell them everything?" Raven inquired, feeling another streak of panic as she pulled away from her leader's embrace.

"I'll just tell them it was a misunderstanding, but I won't tell them anything you don't want me to tell them." The Boy Wonder assured her.

"Thanks." Raven sighed in relief, they both started to head for the stairway; Raven cleared her throat right before they reached the door. "Robin…?"

"Yeah?" Robin asked.

"Could you also not tell them about the hug?" Raven requested. "The last thing I want is for Beast Boy to try to get me to hug him."

"That will also be our little secret." Robin promised, as they both entered the building.

**The End**


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